Cerridwen

Now I have a large metal rack in the spare bedroom. I use to pick up shallow boxes when ever I went to Costco and line them with parchment paper instead of using up all of my nice cookie sheets. I don't bother turning my soap, I just stand it up and leave it for 6 weeks. It's the humidity that you really need to worry about when curing you soap more than anything else. Too high a % of moisture in the air can cause DOS and make the curing time take longer.

Some FOs are much stronger than others. I have some that I use 1oz ppo, most are used at .7 ppo, and two that I can only handle at .5 ppo. Some people are more sensitive to fragrance than others and prefer lightly scented soaps as well. Keep experimenting and see what you prefer. :smiley2:

A great tool for learning to create your own recipes is the Soap Calc website. http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcwp.asp I've spent hours plugging in different combos of oils. For your first try, I'd start with the lard, coconut and olive. If you want you could also throw in 5 % castor. The other oils can sometimes lead to DOS. Palm is another nice soaping oil you might want to add later after the addiction as taken hold. LOL I would also leave the "Water as % of Oils" at the default 38 for now. That will give you the full water amount and will be the safest and easiest for your first batch. Have fun!

I use conditioner only to cleanse my dry curly hair all of the time. During the dry winter months I usually go 6-8 weeks between shampoos, the summer is more like every 2 weeks. I make my own shampoo and conditioner too. The trick to using conditioner only is to really massage your scalp well with the pads of your fingers to get it clean. I find this easier to do with my head flipped upside down. I've been washing my hair this way for a few years now and love it. My stylist noticed a huge difference once I started this routine, much healthier.

I love Papermart.

I buy mine locally in 50 lb bags now, but before I found them I was using http://www.essentialdepot.com/ they offer free shipping if you buy 10 lbs.

I live in So Cal and we have pretty mild winters. I mix everything outside under a big covered patio. My oils are weighed and melted in the kitchen, then I take them outside to add my lye mix and "soap" out there. When I'm done I (very carefully) bring the molds back in the kitchen and let them gel on the counter. I've never had a problem with the temp, the lye does cool down much quicker in the winter than the summer though which is nice.

Those are all beautiful!

All from TSW: Pink Sugar Hazelnut Marshmallow Sanguigno Patchouli Both my husband and daughter are demanding that I make cupcakes now because of the yummy smell of the Hazelnut Marshmallow LOL! I'm hoping to get a batch of soap done too.

Ok, thanks! I just read a few threads about the "twisting" method and I'll try that tomorrow when I get to play again. Now I need to go and look at my wicks and see if I can see the arrows on them that others were talking about too. Those are cute jars too.

Thank you everyone for the kind words and encouragement! Stella~ So how exactly do I get the "heat centered" when I've got the MP going again? Do I try and flip the wick curl the other direction, or twist it somehow? Did I not center it well enough when I poured it? Hmm.... off to play with the search button LOL! I'm happy so many of you like these jars and now have a place to buy them. While it is still glass, they do seem to be pretty sturdy. It was pure beginners luck on my part to find them. I went back to their retail outlet on Wed and wiped them out of C3 for now and picked up a case of smaller/ cheaper 7 oz containers to really experiment with the wax/wick/FO combos for now. I figure smaller jars+ FO with no HT or wrong wick size= less waste of good wax! Down the road when I feel confident, really know what the heck I'm doing and am ready to sell, I'll re-test in those status jars again with the FOs I like working with and offer those as well.

Here's my 1st burn after a 5 day cure. Since the diameter was just shy of 3", I let it burn for 3 hours. I think the HT was pretty good.

They look great! Congratulations!

Congrats!!! I get to light my first tomorrow and am so excited, friends and family just don't get it.

They look great and congrats on the new account!

Thank you for the suggestion. Your very welcome!

I always hated trying to line my wooden molds, a ugly fight would take place every time! I switched to my Woodfield's silicone lined molds and have lived happily ever after. More expensive, but totally worth it to me. Sorry, I never found out the secret to smooth lining with freezer paper. Hopefully someone else can help.

I also love Celestial Colors and am so happy they're back. But has anyone else had problems with the Ballerina Pink fading when exposed to outside light? My soaps are kept out of direct light, but even the indirect light outside at my FM made them fade to nothing. My pretty white with pink swirled soaps are now completely white! I had to pull the batch and am using them on my family only now. So far thats the only color of theirs that has done that.

Maybe a pretty, but unscented candle would be nice. That way she wouldn't have to find out the hard way that her favorite scent is now making her nauseated.

That jar is from General Wax and Candle Co http://www.generalwax.com/glass-container-jars--lids--amp--gift-boxes/glass-containers---jars/page_2/c___104.html The Status Jars come in two sizes, the one I have is the 12 oz and then they also have a smaller 3 oz jar. Both jars come with a glass lid.

Thanks everyone! At least I only have to let the candle cure for 5 days, much easier that 4 weeks for my soap!

Just wanted to stop in, say Hi, and share my first candle. I’ve been making B&B stuff & soaps for a little while now and just recently decided to try my hand at candles. I poured my first one Sat night and think it’s pretty good for a first try. I used C3 soy, uncolored, in a 12oz status jar, 2.75” diameter, HTP 105 wick, scented with a lavender FO. All of these came in a kit I bought from a supplier close to me. It smells great, now to keep my hands off from it for a few more days while it cures will be a challenge! I’ve been doing a lot of reading and researching on this site already and am grateful for all of the info I’ve found. What an amazing resource this site is! Thank you. Hopefully I’ll be able to give a little back over in the soap and B&B sections until I start getting a better idea of what the heck I’m doing with candles. LOL

I've never seen anything like that before, those are truly beautiful!

Those look yummy.